The Election of 1932

1. The Election of 1932 Mr. Dodson

2. The Election of 1932 • How did President Hoover respond to the Great Depression? • What did Roosevelt mean when he offered Americans a “New Deal”? • Why was the election of 1932 a significant turning point for American politics?

3. Hoover’s Limited Strategy • Hoover convinced business leaders to help maintain public confidence in the economy. • He believed that the best way to end the Depression was through voluntary action by businesses – Keeping wages high, etc.) – However, it didn’t work or last. • To protect domestic industries, Congress passed the Hawley-Smoot tariff, the highest import tax in history. European countries also raised their tariffs, and international trade suffered a slowdown. • Hoover set up the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which gave government credit to banks, industries, railroads, and insurance companies.

4. Hoover’s Limited Strategy • The theory of the RFC was that prosperity at the top would help the economy as a whole. Instead, many Americans saw it as helping bankers and big businessmen, while ordinary people went hungry. • Hoover did not support federal public assistance because he believed it would destroy people’s self-respect and create a large bureaucracy. • Finally, public opinion soured for Hoover when he called the United States Army to disband a protest of 20,000 unemployed World War I veterans called the Bonus Army. They wanted immediate payment of a pension bonus due in 1945.

5. New Economic Thought • As the Depression got worse, some economists backed the ideas of British economist John Maynard Keynes. (kayns) • Keynes said that massive government spending could help a collapsing economy and encourage more private spending and production of goods and services. • At that time his theory was not widely accepted. • It would provide the idea behind Roosevelt’s plan to get the U.S. out of the depression.

6. A “New Deal” for America • FDR promised a New Deal for the American people. • His spirit of optimism which made him very popular. • He was ready to experiment with government roles in an effort to end the Depression. • As governor of New York, Roosevelt had experience with relief programs – he set up an unemployment commission and a relief agency. • FDR’s wife, Eleanor, was an experienced social reformer. She worked for public housing legislation, state government reform, birth control, and better conditions for working women. • When the Roosevelts campaigned for the presidency, they brought their ideas for political action with them.

7. The Election of 1932 Herbert Hoover • Believed that federal government should not try to fix people’s problems. • Argued that federal aid and government policies to help the poor would alter the foundation of our national life. • He argued for voluntary aid to help the poor and argued against giving the national government more power. • Hoover gave very few campaign speeches and was jeered by crowds.

8. The Election of 1932 Franklin Roosevelt • Believed that government had a responsibility to help people in need. • Called for a reappraisal of values and more controls on big business. • Helped many Americans reassess the importance of “making it on their own” without any help. • Much of his support came from urban workers, coal miners, and immigrants in need of federal relief.

9. Importance of the 1932 Election • Roosevelt won 57 percent of the popular vote and almost 89 percent of the electoral vote. • The election of 1932 is a turning point in the role of government in American society. • Americans were now willing to accept an expanded role for government.